Shapes for Change
by CaptainKicky
Summary: A cloaked figure strolls the streets of Sabaody Archipelago seemingly lost and all too aware of what's going on around her. She finds a job singing at a bar after some misshap. However what will happen when this short, seemingly, frail and weak girl catches the attention of four super novas who were at the bar one of the nights she preforms? (I hope you enjoy the story!)
1. Where it Begins

Setting and some test things~

No One's POV:

Late at night on Sabaody Archipelago a short cloaked figure strolls slowly but with purpose into an alleyway by a bar. The figure goes through the back doors of the bar into the kitchen and past all the workers who pay them no mind as if it's a regular occurrence. As they move through a double swinging door from the kitchen to the bar area where the customers are being rowdy and the stools along the open tap are filled.

Tables hold pirate crews, more specifically four super novas. Kidd, Law, Zoro, and Luffy each refusing to leave and all seemingly magically found in the same bar. Kidd is growling at Law from across the room while his crew is being rowdy and rude as always. Law is seemingly ignoring everything but in reality has an eye on everything. His crew is flirting with the waiters and the majority of them were already wasted. Luffy… Well Luffy was just being Luffy, dancing on the table and eating everything in sight. His crew is simply ignoring the other threats in the room and drinking happily and being the loudest out of them all. Any small fry captain is quivering away from them or has already fled the bar.

The bar keeper seems unperturbed by these events and simply keeps the beer flowing to all tables and food going out to any paying customers. He's an older man with salt and pepper colored hair and a bit of a rugged beard. He's kept on some bulky muscle and height but isn't nearly as tall as Kidd. The man flicks his eyes over to the cloaked figure and nods his head in acknowledgment. The clock tower can be heard in the distance hitting eight pm. Suddenly there's ruckus in the street and people flood into the small bar, standing or sitting where they could find an open seat, around a small wooden stage that had been shadowed and ignored to this point. The pirate captains all pick up their heads in irritation at the sudden crowdedness of the area and push the people from their tables to get their elbow-room back. The bar had suddenly been turned into a mosh pit of sorts.

The cloaked figure takes the stage unnoticed still by the captains however this time there's another two shadows with them that take their respected place on the stage. Suddenly moody lighting that doesn't help reveal anything of the cloaked figure but two men's silhouettes could be picked out by the poor lighting. They seem to tower over the cloaked figure, one carries a electric guitar in hand and the other takes their place behind a set of drums that seem to have magically appeared in the back of the stage. The crowd is already shifting in excitement and becoming anxious. The captains in the bar try to tune it all out and find some reason to hate the figure on stage for making their night that much worse than it already had been. In Kidd's case he wanted to kill the figure where it stood. Law was mildly amused by Kidd's irritation but was interested in the figure in a way. Luffy was just laughing and being a complete idiot. His crew had their full attention on the stage.

Then there was a count down… "1... 2... 3…"

The guitar hits a note and the figure begins singing, *Ex's and Oh's by: Elle King* it's a female singing voice with a raspy tone catching everyone's attention. The crowd is silent while she sings.

The cloaked figure moves, sways a bit while singing but doesn't dance enough to move the cloak from it's protective shield around her. They hold a mic and only a small black gloved hand is visible. As soon as the song comes to an end the crowd goes nuts, cheering, screaming, begging for another song. The short girl bows and then nods to the two men with her, holding up two fingers to signal another song they'd do. They perform another song just as breath taken, *Jackson by Elle King*.

The captains there seem interested in her and at least two of them plan on talking to her after she finishes and the crowd dissipates. However right after she finishes her second song she disappears. She had managed to climb off the stage and make her way to the bar keeper in the time it took them all the focus their attention back on her waiting for another song. She was collecting her pay for the performance and heading for the back doors, alone, the two men also disappeared into thin air just like how they appeared. Luffy jumped up a bit and started scanning for the girl, he had taken an interest and had an instinctual inkling to talk to the girl and he planned to do just that. Law's eye twitched as he started scanning for her too, less obvious though. The girl was already out the back door and heading out of the alleyway when the captains realized she had actually left the bar completely. Kidd however ignored the other two captains and mumbled to Killer that he had "no interest in a tiny little wimp like that."

None of them knew what they were in for nor how to react to this cloaked figure that managed to catch all of their attentions even if seemingly weak.

 **This is just some little fun stuff I'm starting. I'll continue it if people like it or are interested! I hope someone likes it! It's all just from my brain.**


	2. Alleyway Brawl

This is all before the Auction House incident. I have some fun plans for that part~!

No One's POV

It's the next day after the odd encounter with the singer at the bar and both Law and Luffy share the same idea. Go back to that bar and acquaint themselves with that mysterious girl. Luffy's plan is to wait in the bar for her, all day if he needs to, but Nami scolds him and says "you need to act like a captain and make an actual plan!" Luffy starts pouting and whining so Brook, who took great interest in the girls singing abilities, suggests they go back the same time they had before. Everyone agrees and simply carries out their normal day.

Luffy goes to the streets to buy as much vendor food as possible while Nami goes to shop with Robin. Brook drinks his tea on deck watching Franky build some new odd contraption/weapon. Usopp and Chopper drool with stars in their eyes as Franky builds his little robot looking weapon. Sanji is leaving to go shopping while Zoro is set on training for a few hours using heavy weights before sleeping for the rest of the day.

Law's plan is to go by himself and to try not to attract attention. He begins to think over all possible problems and possible outcomes in his room while also contemplating why he took such interest in the odd cloaked girl.

*In one of the forests of Sabaody*

OC's 'kinda' POV:

She had discarded her cloak once she was positive there were no prying eyes. Standing at a whole 5'2 she had firey orange hair, darker than Nami's, and cold grey-blue eyes. The cloak was draped on the back of a tall grey flee-bitten, male horse that follows the girl closely with it's ears and head at attention for any threat. The big grey had joined her at the edge of the woods waiting ever so patiently for it's master and his treats. The horse bore a simple black english saddle with a grey saddle pad with some symbol stitched into it and a chest guard to keep to saddle in place. It's mane was white with dark black and grey streaks through it, the tail was an ombre from black to white. there was a simple bitless bridle over it's head with no reins because for the girl they were not necessary. The short girl wore a blue loose tank top that stopped just below her breasts and a black vest over top of that. She had two black gloves on, one was wrist length whilst the other one went up to mid upper-arm. She also wore a dark forest green scarf that trailed behind her as she walked. Her blue jeans hugged her muscular legs and had a brown leather belt hung above carrying a well worn tomahawk. The pants went down into knee high brown leather riding boots. She was easy on the eyes but could care less about her looks so she wore no makeup and her hair was unruly normally brandishing curls throughout it that were constantly getting in her face. Not to mention she always covered up with a cloak so who cares. As she walked she mindlessly tapped the side of her leg humming random tunes and walking down a path to her campgrounds where she temporarily set up shop.

She had just gotten back from getting food and drinks for herself and her companions. Which she carried in a messanger styled bag and would stay there till later that night. Her thoughts drifted back to the night before where she had an interesting audience in the bar she performed at. Four supernovas… now that's quite the rarity. Though she didn't hold much knowledge on current events, or rising pirates as she didn't care, she had heard stories and gossip about the supernovas. She half expected the redheaded one to start biting people's heads off by the foul aura around him. Kidd was known for his cruelty so it wouldn't have surprised her. Giggling at the memory of his frustrated face, her mind began drifting back to the other captains that were there. The Surgeon of Death had been one of them and that had unnerved her for but a moment. He was tall and dark, very handsome in a rugged way but still creeped the hell out of her. Slightly bemused she thought of how she would probably only stand up to his elbow. Then there was the goofy dark haired boy that had been dancing on the tables, Strawhat Luffy. That boy was an interesting one he seemed all giggles and happiness but she could tell there was an underlying power in him that surprised her at first but there was a reason why he was a supernova. In his crew was another supernova that she almost forgot about, Roronoa Zoro. His green hair caught her eye at first but his eyes were what scared her. They pierced her with visible irritation but also curiosity, probably as to what was going on. His eyes made her feel vulnerable and like a wild beasts prey. Thinking back on it, Luffy's whole crew seemed incredibly powerful to her, so why were they acting like such children? She may never know.

Her thoughts and questions got cut off by her camp coming into view. All it really was was a little tent of canvas, a bedding area for her horse and other companions that were currently off hunting and exploring. There was a decent sized fire pit in the middle with a cooking set up over top of it to boil water or cook meat. She took the cloak off her horse and went to set it into her tent with her bag. Once she had looked up into the sky for the sun she found she had at least two more hours till she had to start heading back to town for her 'bar time' as she called it. She crashed back into her tent onto her pillows and pulled a fur blanket over herself falling asleep in seconds.

*At the bar around 7:30*

No One's POV:

Luffy and only some of his crew strolled into the same bar as last night and headed to the same table. This time it was only Luffy, Brook, Nami, Zoro, and Sanji. Sanji had invited himself since there was a female involved. Luffy already began to grow impatient even though they had just arrived. Nami waved over the bar keeper who walked over ready to take their orders. However what Nami wanted was information not a drink. Zoro did want a drink so he ordered it before Nami could get to business.

"So we were curious about that girl from last night that performed here…" Nami started.

The bar keeped interrupted her saying "Sorry miss I can't say anything."

The man turned and began walking back to his bar to get Zoro's drink. Nami huffed in irritation and mumbled "How rude!"

Luffy just laughed and decided he'd have to do it himself. Hopefully not the hard way. Sanji was swooning over how beautiful Nami-swans angry face was. Brook just stared at the stage waiting patiently.

Then some customers strolled into the bar in a small group heading for the bar counter talking about the latest gossip of the town. One being about the auction house and how bold the slave-traders were getting. That caught Brook's attention and he listened in for a second until the men's conversation turned to some brothel down the street, ew…

A bit before eight Trafalgar Law walked in and took a seat at a table by himself ordering a single beer. Luffy turned and stared at him for a second and they shared glares for a second before Luffy smiled and waved.

"Sorry Tra-guy but I got first dibs on the cloak-girl shi-shi-shi!" Luffy turned away from Law and continued impatiently waiting for the girl to show. Law was not phased in the least by Luffy's declaration and simply smirked before drinking his beer. Though he was surprised that Luffy knew his name. In reality Nami had told him yesterday who they had been in the bar with after they left. Then lectured him on how stupid of a captain he was, which Luffy tuned out completely.

*Meanwhile somewhere in town*

OC's 'kinda' POV:

"I'm gonna be lateee!" she silently screams to herself while running through town trying to get to the bar for her performance. She had overestimated her ability to wake up when she needed to and had slept an extra half hour than she should have. 'Maybe I should start trying to go to sleep earlier' she thinks to herself while still tearing down the street.

As the bar comes into sight she lets out a huge sigh of relief and slows her pace just a bit. The clock tower hadn't rung eight yet meaning she was still safe. She had yet to be late for her performances and didn't plan on starting today. As she rounds the corner into the alleyway by the bar as per normal, she adjusted her cloak to cover her features again, hair pulled into a low pony tail out of sight. When she picks up her head she is faced with a rather disturbing scene. A young girl maybe early 20's at the most, with dark brown hair and an hourglass figure was being tied up by two men wearing dark clothes and masks. Her mind shut down and she took a step forward a low growl erupting from the back of her throat as her anger boils low in her stomach while dark thoughts race through her mind. Luckily these men were oblivious to her so she snuck up on them silently keeping her killer aura at bay.

The young girl's cries were muffled by a strip of cloth that had been forced into her mouth tied painfully tight behind her head. She had at one point been wearing a pretty blouse with a pair of jeans and heels but they were now coated in grime and dirt from the nasty alleyway, heels fallen off her feet from her struggles to get away. The men simply continued to tie her up easily overpowering the thin girl, debating on how much she would go for at the auction. At the mention of the auction the cloaked woman let out an ear splitting roar, comparable to that of a wild beast, her killer aura realeased and shrouded the area in a miasma as she grabbed her tomahawk out of it's sheathe to bring down on the two men, mercilessly attacking them.

Her vision went red, all features of her face still hidden but more animalistic as she continually hacked the two men in the back. She wasn't quite aiming to kill but was aiming to inflict excruciating pain and possible paralysis. She took out one of the men's achilles letting him crumple to the ground crying in pain. Then she turned her full attention to the other man. She brought the heel of her foot down on the man's upper leg successfully breaking his femur in half and letting him crash to the ground. Both men were snivelling balls of pain when she was done with them. They didn't even have time to process what had hit them. Staring down at them she felt no regret, only disgust. Turning away she cautiously walks towards the girl who had sank against the wall crying into her knees, hands still bound and mouth still gagged.

OC's POV:

"Are you ok my dear..?" I tenderly asked, trying not to scare the poor girl. The girl flinched at the intruding voice but picks up her head and nods still crying her heart out from fear and shock.

"I'm going to untie your hands and take off the gag. Stay strong girlie." I says softly before reaching out and tenderly untying the ropes binding her wrists, setting my tomahawk far away as to not intimidate the girl. After untying her wrists she reaches behind the girl's head and quickly gets the gag off her throwing it behind myself in disgust. The young girl rubs her wrist and starts a whole new bout of tears and sobs. Uncomfortable with the situation I awkwardly bring the girls head to my chest and hug her letting her have her moment whilst adjusting myself against the wall.

"I was so scared! I thought I was… going to be a s-slave for sure…." The girl's cries muffled by my shirt. I pet her head and say soothing comments waiting till her sobs turned into hiccups. I picked up my head now realizing the audience I had collected. Nervously sweat dropping I mindlessly reached up making sure my cloak's hood was still up and hiding my face.

*In the bar before the men had been beat up*

No One's POV:

During the whole commotion the bar keeper/owner had heard the initial roar made in the alleyway and had made his way to the back as fast as he could. He already knew something wasn't right, the clock tower had struck eight and still his performer hadn't shown up and she was never late, all this made him very nervous to what was ahead. Likewise the pirate captains had also heard the roar and followed right after the bar keeper ignoring the waitresses and cooks complaints of "not being permitted back here!" Luffy's crew, Law, and the bar keeper had come onto an odd sight when they emerged into the alleyway from the bar's back door. All their eyes turned into wide saucers as they took in two men beat within an inch of their life laying in their own blood whimpering and curled in on themselves. Then they noticed the cloaked girl untying the gag on another girl with tear stains on her face and rope burn on her wrists, eyes already puffy and red, clothes covered in dirt and still sobbing. Then the cloaked girl did something surprising she sat against the wall and pulled the other girl into her chest comforting her best she could. Still oblivious to the other people in the alleyway.

Luffy started to grin ear to ear while Law smirked and leaned against the alleyway wall, both of them had already decided this woman was very, very interesting. Luffy wanted her to join his crew for sure, as always his instincts were right. Law was simply interesting not as rash as Luffy on his decisions on who would join his crew. The bar keeper gasped, that caught the girl's attention and she jumped seemingly instinctively checking to make sure her cloak was still hiding her.

"Are you ok?!" The bar keeper asked as he walked over to kneel next to the cloaked girl. Though their interactions had been short and only a handful he had grown to view this young girl as a daughter of sorts.

She simply nodded and then used the hand that wasn't holding the wounded girl to point down at the other girl silently saying "But she isn't."

The bar keeper collected his composure and nodded his head. "Ok, miss I'm going to pick you up and bring you into my bar till we can call the hospital to come get you." The girl simply nodded and let herself be carried off.

Just before they stepped into the bar the girl surprised everyone by twisting her head back saying "Miss! My name is Miya… What's your name?! I-I haven't properly thanked you y-yet…" She was still lightly hiccuping but had quenched her tears for now and tried to act as strong as she could for her savior and to save whatever courage she had left.

The cloaked figure hesitated for but a minute before answering "Well Miya, my name is Shayde… No thanks are needed I'm just glad I was able to save you…" There was a sad tone in her voice and she was speaking very softly yet holding the same raspy tone she had while singing. The bar keeper looked surprised that she had responded at all but continued into the bar when he was certain they were done talking.

Luffy immediately started jumping up and down and getting in the cloaked girls face asking what happened and saying how cool she was. Then he demanded that she joined his crew. She simply ignored him and walked to pick up her fallen tomahawk and putting it back on her hip. Turning on her heels she starts to walk towards the bars back door and figure out what the bar keeper wants her to do now. She felt very singled out with everyone's eyes on her. One step towards the door and Zoro had stepped in front of her stopping her from reaching the door. She picked up her head, squared her shoulders and silently demanded an explanation through her glare pointed at Zoro from under her hood.

"Sorry lady but we've been waiting quite some time to talk to ya." He grinned cockily, "Now why don't we have a little chat."

 **I hope you liked this chapter! I tried to make this one longer but I rushed it a bit so I'll be going back and fixing any errors I may have made thus far! I rushed it because I hate waiting for updates so I don't want to make any of my readers wait for my stuff. I also fixed some grammatical mistakes and such in the last chapter. Thank you for the reviews so far! You have no idea how happy it made me to read them.**

 **Ah, just a heads up this character is loosely based off myself and has powers I've always wanted! You can find a drawing of my OC on my deviant: CaptainKicky. It's a drawing of just how I described her earlier but more cheerful than she currently is in the story. Till the next one~**


	3. A Barkeeper Kindness

OC's POV:

"Sorry lady but we've been waiting quite some time to talk to ya." Zoro grins cockily, "Now why don't we have a little chat."

My glare darkens and I take another step forward deciding to ignore his comment. This irritates Zoro so he reacts with violence, taking out his Wado Ichimonji and blocking my path.

"Don't test me…" Zoro glares down at me, his demon like eyes sending shivers down my spine.

Brook is in the background waving his arms frantically in the air screaming "AHH, ZORO-SAN IS SO SCARYY! Please don't kill Performer-san…" he finishes meekly.

"I have no interest in talking right now… Move." Not about to let him get away with intimidating me I pick up my head letting my grey-blue eyes pierce him seeming to hold a glow of their own. Zoro was taken aback for but a moment, quickly gaining his composure and looking down at her in mild surprise. He looked at Luffy for orders who simply nodded at him, smiling all the while. As Zoro dropped his sword down to his side about to sheathe it Law made himself known again by kicking off the wall and stepping forward.

"I would also like to talk to you at some point Singer-ya. However, do not test my patience since I do plan on getting my answers." With that Law walked out of the alleyway to who knows where.

Rolling my eyes and huffing I began mumbling rude comments under my breath turning to walk towards the back door of the bar. Then I hesitate for a moment and think 'What answers? What could he possibly know about me to start asking questions?!' Instead of stressing myself over the thought I set it aside for later but continue on my way to the door. This time I successfully make it through the door with no interferences but the Strawhats were still following me which was extremely irritating. As I made my way to where the barkeeper had the injured girl sitting on a chair in the bar I noticed the bar was empty, obviously cleared out by the barkeeper for the girl to be left in peace till a doctor could come and look at her. 'He's such a kinda old geezer' I think dryly.

"Barkeeper-sama I need to talk to you real quick." I state as I slowly walk towards him while staring at the injured Miya. Tearing my gaze away I straighten my shoulders and stare up at the barkeeper who stood over me as he was a good bit taller than me.

"Shayde, my name is Jeff. We've been over this, so stop calling me barkeeper-sama." He stared down at her with playful irritation. He was simply happy she was talking at all. She seemed to be a child of few words. "Okay my dear, what is it you want to talk about?"

"My business I told you about before is going to occur soon. Meaning I will no longer be able to perform here for you…" I stared down at the ground finishing sadly. I had begun to really enjoy my performances, steady pay, and restful life here. It was painful to have to say goodbye to it but it was time. 'It was never going to last anyway' I think bitterly to myself.

Jeff looks down at her his wrinkled face losing it's happy smile and turning into a kind gentle one after noticing her change of mood. Reaching out to put a hand on top of her head he says, "I understand. I knew this would come about sooner or later… Just remember you're always welcome here, or rather you better come back and see me before I die you damn brat!" He ruffled her hood as though he was ruffling her hair.

I smiled and even though no one could see my face they knew I was no longer sad. I bob my head up and down once in response.

Surprisingly through all of this Luffy had stayed unnaturally quiet and so had the rest of the Strawhats. They all had soft smiled on their faces as if reminiscing in their pasts.

Suddenly Luffy gasped and started getting excited about something that he just remembered, something about going to an amusement park with their friends. He started jumping all around and acting like the five year old he truly was. His crew rolled their eyes at his antics laughing lightly, thoroughly used to their captains crap. As they were trying to calm down their captain and their attentions weren't on me I turned to Jeff and surprised him by giving him a big hug. When I stepped back I simply bowed to him murmuring a soft "Thank you for everything." and turned to walk out the front doors that I had walked in almost a week prior to this moment. At that time I had been in a bit of a tight spot and Jeff had really saved me. Patched me up and gave me a job as a waitress though that only lasted for one night. I wouldn't take off my cloak and creeped out all the customers. Giggling to myself at the memory the doors swung shut behind me and I headed off towards the forested area that held my camp I needed to pack up and companions to give directions to.

The Strawhats noticed too late of my departure hearing the light creak the doors made as the closed. Zoro began cursing like a fiend, Nami had just given up, Luffy just laughed it off, Sanji went back to swooning over Nami, and Brook begins drinking tea that magically appeared in his boney hands. None of them bothered to follow the girl in the cloak. They figured if fate chose so they'd all meet again in the near future and maybe then they'd get to finally talk to this mysterious girl.

 **Yet another done! This ones a bit short and a bit slow... but it's on purpose! Don't you worry it's building up. If y'all hadn't noticed this will be a slow build up to romance and trust me it'll be funny. I hope some people are still reading and enjoying these because I'm enjoying my time writing them! If anyone has any suggestions or any holes they see in my plot thus far just leave a review about it and I'll try to fix it, thanks!**

 **I also just wanted to add that I got a rather rude review, although I only have 3 it still sucks. All is says is 'hate'? I'm just gonna ignore it cause I don't give a flying fuck what some guest has to say. However if your gonna leave a review please explain what you hate, trust me I can take some criticism!**


	4. Auction House Madness

(I'm skipping the strawhats time at the park and going to the auction house cause that's when things get interesting)

No One's POV:

As the strawhats went about rushing around on flying fish trying to reach the human auction house to rescue Camie our mysterious singer is staying hidden in the shadows of the auction house tucked into a corner. To make sure that no one would notice her she masked her presence and held still. Her eyes scanned the crowd picking out Trafalgar Law who seemed relaxed but shielded as always. She could never read the man and that unnerved her. What really caught her attention though was the fluffy white polar bear in an orange jumpsuit holding Law's sword. Now that wasn't something you see everyday. He was so fluffy it made her want to hug him and pet his head. After blinking a few times and shaking her head to clear the irrelevant thoughts she continued her scan noticing captain Kidd leaning against the wall with an irritatingly cocky look on his face. Contemplating if the two crews would be a hinderance to her plans and sizing up everyone else in the auction house her brain switched into tactile mode. Besides the two pirate crews there was mainly a bunch of pompous rich farts throughout the room. Just being in the same room with such people was making her sick to her stomach. However the only real problem she saw was the three celestial dragons sitting in their VIP seats. Now they made her furious. She held a deep rooted hatred for them and their tyranny. A growl formed in her throat but was never released, the lights dimmed and Disco introduced himself and was overall a ridiculous spectacle on stage, purely an entertainment feature.

*After a few slaves went through the stage and were sold*

OC's POV:

Part of the strawhat crew strolled in lead by Nami. By the looks on their faces they were already disgusted with this building. I agree 100%, this place was disgusting. If I didn't have business here I would never step foot near this building, let alone in it. As they took their place behind a banister they were right in front of my hiding spot. I shift my attention from them back to the stage where they were bringing out yet another to-be slave, an ex-pirate captain. I had caught snippets of their conversation and apparently they were also there to save a friend of theirs named Camie. Apparently she was a mermaid making her the main event of the auction. 'So they were here for a similar reason as me… Except they're going about this in a more… legal way.' I think to myself. Meanwhile I see the pirate that had been dragged out on stage that had created an uproar with his strong appearance suddenly collapsed in a puddle of blood, probably from biting off his own tongue. There's an uproar in the crowd, I roll my eyes at how dramatic they're being but I do think the man who bit off his tongue must be quite the strong man to be able to bite off his own tongue. Then a feeling of dread settles into my stomach as I wonder when it will be _his_ turn to be displayed. Then I began wondering if _he'd_ even be in today's auction. If not that would be frustrating as all hell.

After the bloody pirate captain had been cleaned off the stage Disco had decided to send out their trump card to cover up the problem meaning they'd be ending the auction. My eye began to twitch as my patience dwindled. As the lights went strobe mode and they'd revealed the mermaid everyone lost their shit irritating me even more than I already was. I heard the strawhats say they had about 200 million meaning they'd probably be buying their friend back. Then the room froze as one of the celestial dragons screamed "FIVE HUNDRED MILLIOON!" Everyone stared at him in pure shock and despair.

"I'll booy it for 500 millioon beri!" the young celestial dragon continued. I sweat dropped thinking 'Well that's a load of shit… What're the Strawhats gonna do now?' With that thought I turn to look at Nami who looks completely heartbroken. The rest of their crew looks equally frustrated. Especially the funny looking dude, who reminded me of a fishman, with the talking starfish. They all started freaking out and trying to find a way to get Camie but there was no other easy way to go about it. They all just had to grit their teeth and stand there staring down at the stage.

They began sealing the deal with the celestial dragon brat when Kidd got fed up with the auction houses crap and kicked off the wall heading for the exit announcing his departure. I watched from the corner of my eye as he left. My decision to stay silent and hidden was really taking a toll on my mental stability. I didn't have the greatest patients so watching all of these people be sold off on stage was really rubbing me the wrong way and looking at the Strawhats distressed faces was also grinding my gears. Just as I was about to step out from the shadows and I hear the smack of the hammer on the wooden table sealing the auction of the mermaid a blur of blue came speeding out of the tunnel, past Kidd, and crashing into rows of seating sending those pompous nobles flying. My mouth unhinged, and would sink to the floor if that were possible, as my eyes grew wide staring at the cloud of dust that the crash had created. Everyone else is in as much of a shock as I am for only a moment. Out walks Strawhat Luffy from the dust screaming about how awful the 'flying-fish' had landed then Zoro begins beating up Luffy. I just continue to stare at them mouth wide open speechless. Then I snap out of my trance and begin absolutely laughing my ass off.

"That was great!" I scream tears streaming down my face while I laughed my ass off. I haven't laughed this hard in far too long. "Holy crap you guys are insane!"

Luffy turns and looks at me and simply raises a hand saying "Yo! What're you doing here?"

I try to compose myself before I answer but when I raise my head Luffy is gone. He's tearing down an aisleway towards the stage screaming, "CAMIEE! I've been looking for you!"

I just chuckle under my breath before walking over to the strawhats to stand beside them. 'If you can't beat 'em join 'em! Or something like that…' I think to myself as I see Law smirking over at us. I can also feel Kidd's presence re-entering the auction house. I ignore them and turn my attention back to Luffy who was being held back from making anymore rash moves by the weird looking dude. Oh, wait nevermind. I was right, he's a fishman!

"AHHHH! MONSTER!" The squid-like fishman is freaked out by the sudden screaming and shouting at him. The crowd is suddenly throwing anything they can towards him. I grit my teeth and begin to slowly creep my way down the stairs towards the fishman. I had enough of this shit and wasn't about to let this gentle fishman get beat up for absolutely no reason. I was still wearing my cloak and my presence was still masked so no one had taken notice of my movement down the stairs. Everyone had their attention focused on Luffy and the fishman, Hachi I believe.

Whilst boiling in my own anger I see that the celestial dragon shoot Hachi and was now dancing around about it. 'I swear, if I hadn't made that damn promise all those stupid ass celestial dragons would be dead before they knew what hit 'em! I'm done with their shit.'

"I hit it! I shot a fishman!" the celestial dragon bounced side to side in an odd happy dance.

Something snapped in me as I saw the fishman's body topple backwards. I normally wasn't one to give a damn about what happened to others but the Strawhats had struck a chord with me that I hadn't realized existed anymore and their group of friends all seemed like good, kind people. Not to mention I hated the celestial dragons and everything about them with my whole being. So, before his body could hit the ground I pounced forward like an animal, thrusting my arms out to catch him. I ended up face planting but I had at least cushioned the injured fishman's landing with my back which, to my surprise, made me sigh in relief. Hachi's blood was soaking my cloak so I tore it off not giving a damn about keeping my 'mysterious persona' up any longer. As orange, flame like hair cascaded down my back I carefully turned Hachi over putting pressure to the gunshot wound, using my cloak to try and slow the bleeding. The right side of my face was still hidden behind a sheet of orange hair, hiding my eye and face from view. The weird talking starfish walked up with tears running down it's face telling Hachi, not to die, please don't die. Against my conscious effort to control my emotions my brain betrayed me flashing a scene of me as a young child. Leaning over a bloodied body crying and sobbing my small head off, begging him not to leave me. 'Ugh… my prior self… so weak and fragile… frustrates me to no end!' That was also the day I vowed to become strong and to be able to take care of myself. Even if that meant pushing the few loved ones I had left away from me. Somewhere along the way I found myself with a gaping hole of self-pity and loneliness. Now this was my effort to dig myself out of it. I would no longer be a self-pitying loser!

Gritting my teeth in frustration my focus is torn back onto Hachi as he lunges for Strawhat, which caused his weight to shift off my back allowing me to slip out from under him. Strawhat had a rather terrifying facial expression at the moment causing me to gasp at the look of pure rage that had taken over his face. I had only ever seen his goofy side so this suddenly serious side surprised me quite a bit. The boy's eyes were locked on the young celestial dragon who was still jumping about like an imbecile. Hachi shouted warning after warning at him but the boy was determined. My eyes widened and I was utterly shocked by the boy, yet again. He did something I had wished to do for years, he punched the snob nosed celestial dragon in the face. My jaw crashed to the floor as I looked at him. He had sent the brat flying without a bit of hesitation.

There was a collective gasp throughout the room. The other pirates were smirking like hellions. I felt eyes on me and as I searched I found Law staring down at me with his smug smirk that irritated me and made my nerves tingle in frustration, though I couldn't figure out why. The only ones in the room that didn't seem surprised in the least was the strawhat crew.

After Luffy finished with the celestial dragon he apologized to his crew for the trouble and headed back to the stage to try and save Camie. Though the guards of the auction house had filed in now and were proving to be a nuisance. I looked around to find someone to take care of Hachi and saw a little reindeer looking animal walk towards me. I raised a brow at him as he approached not sure what to make of him but shifting into a protective angle over Hachi just incase. I don't remember seeing him with any of the pirate crew before but his blue nose reminded me of the tall man beast that had been standing with the Strawhats. 'What an odd bunch…'

"H-Hi, I'm the Stawhat's doctor, Tony Tony Chopper!" He introduced himself timidly. I shifted over so he could get to Hachi's wounds, visibly relaxing. 'Well that explains the monster looking thing from before…' I think to myself.

"Hello… I'm Shayde." I curtly introduced then softened and asked, "I can leave him in your care then? I'm just about useless when handling a gunshot wound."

Something about this little cutie made me go all soft and want to hug him. Then again I love all animals. I had a pretty strong link with them afterall.

Chopper nodded and smiled up at me "No worries he should make a recovery! Though I still need to look over the full damage…" He began mumbling to himself what he'd need.

I smiled then stood up to get back to my original goal. Something of mine had been stolen and I wanted it back no matter what the cost. Walking down the stairs towards the stage everything was in chaos. The strawhats were fighting the guards and more of them were showing up on flying fish. There was a tall beautifully curvy woman with long dark hair and light blue eyes that gracefully arrived from a hole in the roof. How she managed to jump down from that height without a single hair out of place baffled me. However on that note I wasn't the most graceful person ever… A skeleton also showed up, I believe his name is Brook. I'm really interested as to why he's a skeleton but I'm pretty sure it'd be rude to just ask... Then a boy with a long nose showed up crashing unceremoniously from the roof right onto the older celestial dragon successfully knocking the man out. Yet another surprising event. When will these people stop surprising me so badly. They're going to give me a heart attack at some point. I don't think my eyes can deal with the strain I'm putting them through. Trying to catch all these events were making my head spin. I need to just make my brain quiet down and focus.

The green haired swordsman Zoro sent two of the weakling guards flying in my direction, accidentally? I think not… He sent a cocky smirk in my direction confirming my suspicion. He'd totally done it on purpose. As they flew at me I sweat dropped and frowned at them.

"What a pain…" I mumble under my breath. Taking out my tomahawk that had been secured at my waist as normal. I use the butt end of it, swinging like a baseball bat through the two guards heads. Sending them flying to my left and crashing into the bench-like-seats. The men went through row after row of seats and stopped just before where Law was sitting.

"Woopse... I didn't think I hit them that hard." I say in a rather happy tone, rather pleased with my own strength. Turning around I start my way back down the stairs. 'Why does it take so damn long to get down to a freakin stage?!' A string of curses began to form on my tongue but they froze as I looked on stage to see the last conscious celestial dragon holding a gun to the mermaid, Camie.

"Unforgivable! Now that it has come to this, I will just kill the mermaid they came to save!" the female celestial dragon shouted so all eyes were on her.

"What a drama queen… and an attention hog." I say with great distaste. Brook was right next to me and he laughed in his weird way "Yo-ho-ho-ho-hoo! Indeed she is! But this is quite the bad situation Miss Shayde-san we can't let that mermaid-san die..!"

I rolled my eyes and said "Yea, yea, I get that…" My hair was still covering the right side of my face as I focused in on the stage again waiting to see what the Strawhats would do now. This was a rather tight situation afterall.

 **I'm soo sorry for such a delay! Schools been crazy, but anyway... It's decent in length but I only did a quick proof read on it soo... sorry. I hope ya'll enjoy it! It was so fun to write! So far I'm just trying not to let my OC affect the time line. But I've started the next chapter and I promise you you'll get a taste of her power and power to come. Hope it's not too boring/dry I'm working on my writing skills still.**

 **Leave a review if ya want, it helps me adjust what needs to happen. Thank you for the tips thus far, I'm really happy some people are intrigued. Hope I didn't piss off too many people with that gap...**


	5. The Calm before the Storm

No One's POV:

Just as everyone thought it was too late an odd force rippled through everyone making them all stagger backwards and feel a shiver of fear race up their spines, making their muscles go taut. Meanwhile the female celestial dragon had failed to shoot the mermaid and was now unconscious on the ground. Probably from that invisible force but no one could be sure and few actually knew what had it had really been. Right after the celestial dragon hit the ground a tremor shook the entire building to it's core and a pair of giant's hands could be seen digging through the backstage wall. The giant stepped through the hole it made while a shorter figure walked through the dust, the spectators could just make out a silhouette of a man. The figure stepped through the dust, revealing the figure of an old man with silver hair, glasses, and a white cloak trailing behind him. He looked very relaxed and had his hands in the pocket of his shorts and an easy grin on his face. Everyone seemed shocked by this man, apparently he was a legendary man. However Luffy had no clue who this "Dark Knight, Silver Rayleigh" was and didn't care either. Shayde though, she had an immediate reaction of shock and then a smile overtook her features as she stared at the olde man.

Yet again that same force from earlier ran through the crowd. This time much stronger, causing the auction house guards to drop to the ground unconscious. The only one's who seemed relatively unaffected were the pirates and the odd ginger in the room. The old man walked up to the mermaid and, just as Franky appeared with the keys, used his weird power to remove her exploding slave collar. When Franky appeared with the keys and complained about having to go and find them there was a roar heard from back stage and the pounding of heavy footsteps. A flash of brown streaked across the stage towards Franky aiming for the keys. Yet it never made it to the cyborg as a flash of orange, red, and black intercepted it and pinned it to the ground by its neck. As the forms came into focus everyone stared in disbelief at two huge dire wolves, the orange one significantly larger than the brown one pinned under it. One was a large fiery orange wolf with odd black markings swirling down it's side and was about the size of a small horse. It had shiny silver cuffs just above it's paws with a chain wrapped around it, reminding them all of a prisoner's cuffs. It also had one blue eye whilst the right one was milky white with a blue pattern within it. The orange wolf growled deeply at the brown one almost in a warning before getting off and sitting down in an aloof way staring down at the brown wolf still. Rayleigh began to laugh for some reason, he had caught everything that had occurred and was pleasantly surprised. The confused Strawhats all looked at him for answers but he simply stared down at the wolves with amusement.

OC's POV: *A few seconds ago*

Just as I began to relax and slowly make my way up to the stage I heard the roar and immediately knew whose it was. 'Seems as though I won't have to go hunting for him.' I made the quick decision to shift into my most basic form and rush to the stage before the idiot made a mess of everything. I realized mid jump down to the stage that Brook and Zoro must have seen me transform since they had been standing behind me but I'd just have to deal with that later. I saw the flash of brown and kicked off of a bench to gain momentum, though destroying the bench in the process, and pinned my pesky friend/companion before he did something foolish. His name is Quinn, which was supposed to mean intelligent or wise yet he was neither of those things. The foolish mutt had gotten himself captured while trying to impress me and overall being cocky.

*Flashback*

"I bet I can make it the next island by myself!" Quinn shouts loudly at me as we walk through a town, with my tall grey stead Winston at my side. Quinn was jumping a bit like a bunny and pouting over their little debate.

People were giving me weird looks as though I was a psychopath, which I was used to and who knows maybe I am. To them it just sounded as though I was speaking gibberish to myself while my wolf makes noises. Though I got looks for my company in the first place. I was walking through town with a wolf that came up to my waist and a horse that towers over me. Quite the odd sight.

I snort at his comment and say, "Yea, sure… Dude you can't even find your satchel that you 'misplaced' months ago and you get lost so easily! Even if you try you can't just walk one direction in a straight line. Just admit it you're inner-compass is broken." At that point we had been bickering over where the hotel we were staying at was and Quinn had tried to walk down the wrong streets multiple times already. I constantly poke fun at him for his sense of direction or lack there of, which for him was a sour subject.

"Stupid wanna-be-human! I'll show you!" He yells before running off to who knows where. Since the docks were in the opposite direction he was headed.

I glare at him for his comment but watch as he disappears into the evening crowd of the town and turn to Winston and ask, "Do you think he'll be ok?" This town was a small, cute town and nothing about it was remotely threatening but I still worried.

Winston glanced over at me and responds in his regal tone, "Of course, he may be an imbecile but he can at least fight his way out of any tight situations. Though if he would just use his brain those situations would never come to happen."

I sigh and nod my head, I may act mean to the wolf but I loved him none the less. He was like a little brother to me and I worry about my friends and family. I look up at the sky and pull out a little silver whistle with an eagle etched into it. Winston huffs at me, knowing what I was planning to do. I ignore him and blow air into it and seemingly no sound comes out but a few seconds later a call of a bird can be heard over-head.

As it circles around me I halt and give the rare golden hawk, Dorado, instructions to follow after Quinn. I was very careful when sending Dorado on missions since there were many people who have tried to capture, kill, and steal him in the past.

Two days later when I was heading for the next island I got my daily news from Dorado saying the idiot Quinn had gone and gotten himself captured by slave traders. I had been following behind the wolf, who knew I was originally planning on going to Saboady, incase anything went wrong like this. The stupid wolf had drawn too much attention to himself and was captured by the slave traders. Though they normally only sold humans they figured something as rare as a dire wolf would go for a good bit in this area. I quickened my pace and tried to get to Saboady as fast as 'humanly' possible. The only problem was I didn't have my own ship and the passenger ships were so slow. So I did the only thing I could think of doing, I hitched a ride with the Navy. Though I was kinda an un-invited guest…

*End of Flashback*

No One's POV:

"I haven't seen one of your kind in quite some time!" Rayleigh remarked with an amused grin.

The orange wolf picked up it's head being drawn out of it's mental daze and stared at him before responding almost telepathically in a feminine, monotone voice, "Of course. The last one you had met was years ago and that was never supposed to happen. Also, I am the last one of my kind as far as I know. Good to finally meet you Rayleigh-san." No emotion escaped as if it was being bottled up and the wolf was running off a script.

Suddenly the swirling patterns on the dire wolf's side began slithering off the fur and slowly twisted around the wolf's figure. It picked up speed fast and completely covered the wolf before it stretch up and narrowed. Then calmed down, dissipating into air, revealing Shayde in the same outfit as before. Luffy began jumping up and down clapping with wide eyes that held sparkles in them. He looked like a boy in a candy shop. Law was staring intently at her as if trying to dissect her with his eyes. Kidd just scoffed before complaining about how dramatic everyone was being.

The brown dire wolf, whom had sat still and silent to this point, began moving to the girls side with it's tail between it's legs.

It made a guttural noise meaning, "I'm sorry Shayde-sama, I didn't realize that weird looking man was a friend of yours…"

Luffy looked at Chopper for answers as to what the brown wolf had said, the reindeer relayed the message with a questioning face.

Shayde smiled down at him before petting his head, "It's ok. I'm just glad you were actually here and still in one peace." The chocolate brown wolf was a little roughed up but looked healthy enough.

The brown wolf's front paws were black and had a black mane running along its neck fading back to brown at the base of the neck. It also had emerald green eyes that were like shining gems and a black fuzzy muzzle. It was about as big as a miniature horse and held powerful muscles in it's shoulders and rear legs.

Rayleigh looked down at the wolf with a curious look before turning and jumping off the stage, walking off towards Luffy.

"Sorry guys. You came to watch yet it got ruined. Judging by how you handled that situation just now you're not exactly pushovers." Rayleigh apologized in a not so apologetic tone, still walking towards Luffy and the Strawhats.

Rayleigh stopped by Hachi saying, "You're not gonna die, right Hachi? I always told you, you shouldn't walk around this island."

OC's POV:

I stopped listening to Rayleigh-san once I had put two-and-two together that he was friends with Hachi and there would be no more conflict. I stalked off the stage and made my way up to the strawhats with the cyborg, Franky I think, walking to the right of me and Quinn on the other side.

"Guys, the marines have started to surround this building. Better make this fast." I state in an uninterested voice, I was still trying to stay more aloof and not let any of my real personality show. Which was becoming harder and harder around the Strawhats, they were just so lovable.

Though back to what matters, I had noticed the presence of the marines and none seemed strong. So, even in massive numbers they'll still make an easy, short fight. 'I've been craving a real good fight, something that will get my adrenaline running and make me go all-out.' I think to myself.

I felt eyes on me after I finished speaking forcing me out of my thoughts. I went to seek them out and was met with cold grey eyes. Law was staring, yet again, which unnerved me. 'What is that scary man thinking now..?!' is all I could think of. However I also noticed that Zoro's onyx eyes and Brook's eye sockets were both boring into me intently. Brook looked intrigued but Zoro looked frustrated, about what? I had no idea and didn't think I cared to know.

'Oh shit… I forgot that they had been standing right next to me when I first transformed…' Even though everyone say my transformation back into a human, my transformation into the animal form is a little bit different. 'Guess they'll be looking for explanations later.'

Whilst I was having mulling over my options the three captains had gotten into a childish squabble and had headed outside to confront marines that had now completely surrounded the building and were making demands towards us. The three captains walked out fighting each other verbally but the crews stayed put. I raised an eyebrow at them, but since I was looking for a fight I decided to follow after the captains instead of waiting till all the fun is gone.

"Yoshh, let's do this Quinn!" I state in an excited tone as I begin to walk towards the exit. Quinn at my heals.

Zoro who had been leaning on one of the benches called out to me saying, "I would save your energy. Just let Luffy clear up the mess out there. There will be plenty of more marines to slice up." He grinned a wicked grin at the thought of cutting up marines.

His smile made me shudder as I knew exactly what he was imagining but I glared at him nonetheless, "Don't order me around, brat!" I responded childishly. I had to fight back the urge to stick my tongue out at him. Quinn looked surprised at my childish attitude, 'How and why did this strange man get under Shayde's skin so easily?'

Zoro scowled and rudely responded, "Who're you calling a brat?! You don't look older than 13!"

Now my appearance was a bit of a touchy subject. I had always been mistaken for a child and had become a bit 'self-conscious' of it in recent years as more and more people brought it up and poked fun at me because of it.

Sanji who had overheard Zoro's comment shouted from where he stood next to Nami and Robin, "Zoro! You better not be being rude to a lady or I will personally kick your ass!" Zoro didn't even turn to respond to the annoyed blond chef completely ignoring him as did Shayde.

As I began to fume I send Zoro a glare that would kill him on the spot if that were possible, his face turned into a wide grin he figured he'd poked just the right spot. I lunged to kick at his torso though he easily dodged it. I landed on my feet loudly before turning to look at him again.

"Excuse you! But I happen to be 17 years old! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" I yelled at him as I huffed, pouting slightly and stormed away back towards the exit, stomping my feet all the way. Zoro had the balls to begin laughing at my rage. 'What a prick!' was my last thoughts as the bright mid-day sun hit my face. Quinn was still right at my side as we exited together.

Meanwhile the rest of the Strawhat crew, Rayleigh, the Heart Pirates, and the Kidd Pirates had all watched the scene unfold with mild amusement.

Zoro's POV:

He didn't know why but the mysterious girl had caught his attention from the very beginning, though all she had done was annoy him thus far. All her mysteries were making his head hurt and he wished she would just be an open book and stop making his brain think of her. His brain had been such a traitor this week it wasn't even funny. He needed to focus on training and get his naps in without his brain pestering him. However, now in this moment he found that when he turned the tables and annoyed her it was so very satisfying. The angry scrunched up face she made was hilarious and added with the little show of violence was great. Then she began to pout which made her look like an angry puppy. She had quite the personality, kinda made him want to know more about her and see all the other faces she can make. 'Hold up… Hell no, not going there! These thoughts are not manly at all.' He would never admit such thoughts to anyone, especially Shayde. Zoro shook his head in hopes of clearing it and turned away from the confusing girl to face his crew. He was met with an angry glare from Nami, Robin shaking her head side-to-side in a disappointed manner, Brook laughing, Sanji still yelling at him for being rude to "Shayde-swan", then there was Franky carrying Camie, and then Usopp was trying to act manly and striking a pose for Chopper who was eating it up, and Hachi whose wounds were wrapped up and was being carried by Rayleigh. He tuned everything out and suddenly really wanted a nap but had a sinking feeling that wouldn't happen for quite some time.

 **Another one donee! Hope it meets everyone's expectations! I tried to make it a tolerable length but schools been killing my writing spirit... Oh and sorry if Zoro seems a bit OC-ish I'm still trying to figure out how to capture his personality.**

 **HellVampAlice45 I'm sorry if I'm worrying you but Shayde will have many, many more interactions with the crew in the future but as of right now she is trying to keep her distance for her own special reasons~ but I'm soo glad you like it so far! 3**

 **A huge thanks to xxOchibixx, MASSEXPLOSION, XxCrazyDreamerxX, and StarliteOracle for the feed-back and support! Means a lot to me. ^_^**

 **(Also random Guest who dropped a random comment, it was cute thank you.)**

 **Please leave reviews if you enjoyed it or if you just have feedback for me, I love reading them all. I re-read them all the time to get myself hyped for writing time.**


	6. The Fight Begins

No One's POV:

Outside the auction house Luffy, Law, and Kidd were making short work of the marines. There wasn't even really a battle it had just turned into a chance for the captains to show off their strength to one another. Marines were being thrown everywhere, screaming, explosions, and shouting could all be heard inside the auction house.

Shayde exited the auction house, still with Quinn, to the sight of Law tossing a severed head up and down. Her ears ached and her hair stood on end as she noticed more weak presences make their way through the back area of the auction house. Though she ignored it and figured everyone inside will eventually figure it out. More importantly...

"Um… Why is that head still talking… and why isn't there any blood?" She cautiously asks. The girl wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know anything about this creepy doctors power. She'd heard stories from the bar and none of them were lacking in detail of the gore he left in his wake.

Law simply looked over at her and sent a cocky smirk before turning back to find his next victim. The lack of answers pissed the girl off but the look on his face still sent a shiver down her spine.

Luffy was currently pumping his fist full of air till it turned into a giant's hand. Shayde's eyes grew wide, yet again, at the sight of such an odd sight.

"Holy crap that's a big fist…" She mutters watching it crash into the marines, sending them flying. Though she also noticed the odd metal fist that Kidd had created crashing right alongside Luffy's. Kidd must also be a devil fruit user and powerful at that. Said man was laughing like a psycho path, which he probably was but wasn't everyone?

Law was messing with marine body parts in a blue sphere while Shayde watched in wonder. The girl had a strong stomach so not much could ever bother her or make her throw up in disgust. Though she didn't like when Law got an evil grin on his face suddenly. Even if he was still facing the marines he was toying with.

"Shambles" Law mutters in his deep voice his cocky/amused smirk returning.

Her instincts were right as per the norm. As four marines got sent flying through the air at her she easily dodged them by jumping to her left, letting the marines crash to the ground in a mound of limbs and moans. Though when she had jumped she had moved back far enough she was in Kidd's fighting area. Just as Shayde was about to tear Law a new one for being such an ass a marine got chucked into her back. If it had been an average, proportioned marine she would have been about to withstand the hit but this marine was FAT. He was massive. Kidd didn't even notice her standing there about to get crushed by the man he sent flying, he just kept fighting. Shayde got sent toppling forward, head first into the grass and mud. Just before the fat man could fully crush her spine she shifted into a fox form and bolted out from under the falling fat man. Shayde's fox form is similar to her wolf form color wise, just smaller and more agile. She bolted right at Kidd and bit his leg. Yep she latched her sharp teethed jaws right onto the supernova's calf. Kidd screamed in surprise and pain before trying to shake the girl off but she stayed glued on in sheer anger. Whilst this was happening Luffy had been reverted into a tiny mini form of himself, though Shayde missed it this time.

"WHAT THE FUCK! DOES THIS STUPID ANIMAL HAVE A DEATH WISH?!" Kidd bellowed before using his devil fruit power to send a sword flying at the fox.

Law was laughing darkly at the odd sight in front of him whilst Luffy was giggling like a five year old girl due to his pathetic size. Kidd grew red, embarrassed by their laughter and grew even angrier at the fiend connected to his leg.

Shayde quickly detached from the man's leg avoiding the sword and spat out the man's blood in disgust before shifting back into her human form with a scowl plastered on her small features. Kidd stared at her in surprise before his face turned red in anger again and he took a step towards her, ready to murder her. Shayde didn't back down but simply glared right back at him, though they got interrupted when Killer showed up in a flurry of spinning blades killing a few marines threatening Kidd.

"Captain I think it's time we go…" Killer said in a low, dark voice. Kidd stared at him before smirking and turning away from me. Shayde picked up her head and noticed that everyone was now outside waiting on the stairs for their captain's orders. Quinn had decided to stay out of Shayde's whole ordeal and was sitting right between Zoro and Nami, staring at the girl in a condescending way. She turned her glare from Kidd to Quinn, glaring the wolf down till the cocky look left the wolf's features.

"Well, see ya later, Straw Hat. It was a pleasure meeting you in person… but I won't give you any mercy when we meet again." As Kidd began to cockily smirk/glare at Luffy the strawhat kid didn't even seem to be taking the moment seriously.

"Hm, but I'll be the one that finds the One Piece." Luffy states in a cheerful tone. His crew smiles down at him while shaking their heads whilst everyone else stared at him in shock, well besides Shayde and Killer. Shayde didn't really know what the One Piece was but she'd heard people talking about it before through her travels. Killer, well you couldn't really see his face and his posture hadn't changed at all.

"Hey, Kidd what're you just standing around for?!" Killer says in frustration, he had yet again jumped in and stopped an attacker from hitting the distracted Kidd.

"Hey, Killer… On the route that we took to get here… Whenever we said we were going to find the One Piece they just laughed at us… Although I killed anyone who dared to laugh… Though after this we're going to the sea in which if you don't have the guts in which to say it you'll die. Let's meet again in the New World!" Kidd's long monologue finally finished with a, "Let's go guys!" With his call for battle they stormed head on into the attacking marines.

Each showing off different abilities that made Shayde's eyes grow wide, yet again. The girl still could not for the life of her understand why these crazy, flashy, annoying pirates were so dramatic and weird. So, while the captains were being all dramatic and saying boring, long speeches she went off to go find something to do, this time with Quinn. The girl had almost grown used to the feeling of having this set of eyes burning a hole in the back of her head but it still none the less made her turn around and look. She was met with piercing onyx eyes that averted when the owner had realized he'd been caught staring, again. Shayde rolled her eyes, though she refused to admit it Zoro's eyes were pretty damn hot, but also terrifying. She aborted that train of thought and started heading back along the building towards the thicker woods to gather her belongings and get her horse Winston. The poor guy was getting peeved having to stay separate from her for such long period of time. She had basically grown up with Quinn, Winston, Dorado, and another. Though along her journeys she had made other animal friends that had split from her path as time went on those four had always stuck by her side no matter what. She placed her right hand on the top of her tomahawk resting at her hip, in almost a comforting way.

Luffy and his crew had headed about the same direction she was aiming for so she turned on her heels, abandoning the wall, and followed after the path they created through the marines. The marines were still confused about Shayde and whether she was friend or foe so they simply ignored her for now until orders told them otherwise.

The strawhats were all fighting for their lives through the endless numbers of marines. Shayde simply veered off and dug through some bushes till she returned with a tan canvas messenger style bag and a black duffle thrown diagonally across her body on her back. She then let out a high pitched whistle from her mouth using her fingers and the galloping of hooves could be heard almost immediately. Crouching low Shayde waited till she say the blur of grey and white. Lunging forward she hooks her left arm around the horse's neck and continues to swing her lower body up and onto his back where the lightweight saddle was. Though she had removed the stirrups so she used her lower body strength to stay in the saddle at such high speeds. They went flying through the woods for a good 5 minutes and exited into a clearing where the strawhats were struggling with some giant bear man, one of the Seven War Lords though Shayde doesn't know that. Winston hit the breaks and they stood right at the edge of the clearing in confusion. Meanwhile Rayleigh was desperately trying to hold back a marine looking guy with a devil fruit ability, an admiral. How they got this far away from the auction house she had no idea. Although she did know Rayleigh and Luffy needed help. However she didn't know if she was willing to help them even though she did already see them as good people, that would mean making herself into a known criminal. As she sat on top of Winston at the edge of the clearing contemplating her options her thoughts were interrupted by a shout.

"Shayde! Use your power to save strawhat and his crew! I'd like them to stay alive through this!" Rayleigh shouted at me from where he was fighting the dangerous light man. The order from the old man threw Shayde off for a second but she got over it and listened anyway. Luffy looked over at her before smiling and waving. The rest of his crew was too worried about their fight to bother acknowledging the strange girl, though the little side glance and smirk from both Zoro and Sanji did not go unnoticed by Shayde. It confused her but she pushed it aside and dismounted from Winston gracefully before looking up a Rayleigh, stalking towards the weird bear guy and the Strawhats silently. Quinn and Winston stayed off to the side, letting Shayde have her fun. The golden Eagle Dorado wasn't with them at the moment as Shayde had sent him on a mission a while ago.

"Rayleigh-san is it ok if I go all out on this guy?" She calls to the old guy in an almost question, mostly statement way.

"Hahahah! Go for it!" was all he replied before he was caught up in his own battle yet again.

Cracking her knuckles and glaring up at the giant bear dude with the bible in his hands she mutters, "This is just what I needed!"

 **Sorry that this one is a little shorter but it was mostly to get my creative juices flowing. I'm so glad people are still enjoying this I'm loving my time writing about this OC she's very relatable for me and fun to make a background for, slowly of course. Don't worry I won't hide her past or powers for too much longer though I must warn some of y'all that the romance part will be a bit on the slow side and I will be doing minimal stuff on the two year time skip. Anyway ~HAPPY VALENTINES DAY~**

 **Special thanks to Kuroja~ Your lovely comment is what drove me to finish this tonight thank you so, so much. Don't worry about your grammar it seemed fine to me! Mine isn't the best either ;) I hope this chapter was to your expectations! I hope you had a lovely Valentines day youself.**

 **Till the next one! 3**


	7. The 'Fight' Ends

Shayde's POV

As I start to get pumped for a fight I begin assessing the situation. I immediately notice how exhausted and torn up the Straw Hats are, then I notice Zoro was unconscious, being supported by Usopp, and what I believed was him looking back at me was actually just him briefly opening his eyes before passing out again, there was the flashy marine in the striped suit fighting Rayleigh and some chubby dude wielding an axe, bigger than himself, barking out orders. Lastly, there was the large bear dude, something was off about him, he didn't smell human and looked off. I begin walking a bit faster as I notice Luffy demand his crew to retreat and has them run ahead without him. 'Luffy plans on trying to take on this beast by himself..?' thoughts of how reckless this man was raced through my head as I admire his determination.

Sighing I can't help but think 'How 'Luffy' this moment is….' I may not have known him long but he's kinda like an open book and I'm fairly good at reading people. Though none of this would make sense to anyone who doesn't know the boy. The bear dude starts to load up some sort of yellow light into it's mouth pointing it at Luffy. Apparently it did not view me as a threat as it only focused on the boy. 'Well guess I'll have to change that promptly! I'd hate to miss any action.' I decide it's time to let some real power out. Not too much, wouldn't want this to be too easy. These guys did not seem to be pushovers. Muttering a long stream of words in an unknown language a fiery mist swirls around me, silver cuffs form onto my wrist as pure silver chains wind themselves up my arm attaching at my shoulders. The cuffs around my wrists had matching odd green gems imbedded in them that let off a soft glow. My hair thrashes and twirls as my features become sharper and sky blue markings appear around and under my left eye which turned into a cloudy white color with blue hues floating through it. My clothes changed to a black bear skin jacket that had no sleeves, with wraps underneaths across my chest, my pants stayed as jeans with my tomahawk hanging off my right hip in a leather sheath, and to top it off, knee high animal skin boots that were well worn that had leather strips wrapped around them to keep them from falling down. All this form does is make it easier for me to fight and gives me a bit of a power boost but it wasn't all that great just something simple to start off with. Luffy glanced over at her in awe for just a moment before trying to get a punch in on the bear man.

"Having some trouble Luffy..?" I ask with a light smirk.

"Shi-shi-shi-shi, not at all!" He responds with his goofy grin, even though he is obviously exhausted. As I run up behind Luffy I use his head as a platform to launch myself up into the air, ripping out my tomahawk and letting out a battle cry. I coat it and my hand in black armament before bringing it crashing down on the bear dude's head. It cuts through it like butter but I had missed the head and only taken out part of it's right shoulder. Though my armament breaks right after I'd cut through him, my eyes grow wide in surprise. 'What the fuck is this guy made out of?!' I internally scream. It's mouth lights up in the blinding yellow light again to retaliate but Luffy tackles me to the ground successfully saving my slow ass. I'd been too distracted and surprised to even react.

In between pants I get out, "Thanks Luffy…. I guess..I'm a bit out of shape!" I ruefully laugh at myself. It was true, I hadn't fought seriously in quite a long time. Seems I've overestimated myself quite a bit. 'Damnit…'

Luffy laughs at me also gasping for air himself, "No problem! After all I can't have you join my crew if you're dead! Shi-shi-shi!"

I stare at him with wide eyes before smacking him upside the head. "Who said I would join your crew?!"

"I decided, so it's final." He bluntly states looking right at me with a semi-serious look.

"Ughhh… Boys…" Is all I can muster but I still smile even though I know I shouldn't.

The robot thing didn't wait for us as it tried to lunge at me just as I was catching my breath. Then the chubby dude with the axe cut in yelling orders again.

"PX-1! Roronoa Zoro is half dead!" He shouts from a distant hill, "Go take him out!"

It freezed mid jump then begins to try to lock in on Zoro. It takes off at an insane running speed as soon as it locks in on Zoro who is being carried away by Usopp. I turn and look at him then take off shifting faster than I've had to in a long time into a giant white deer with blue accents throughout and huge pure white horns, female deer normally don't have horns but let's just say I'm special in this case. I run as fast as I can, which in this form is quite fast, but the robot manages to knock down Usopp and Zoro, Sanji, and Brook all at once with a single beam. Letting out another battle cry that turned into a furious roar as I leap, shifting mid air into my dire wolf form but even bigger than before. The cuffs around my wrists now sat above paws started glowing a fiery red that seemed to show my anger. I don't even understand myself why I'm trying to protect the Straw Hats to this extent but I just can't seem to help myself, they are just so interesting and kind. Though I just forced my brain to validate it as 'Rayleigh asked me to so I need to do this.'

I faintly hear the pounding of hooves and growls of my wolf companion racing towards me but I tune it out and focus on just the robot.

I try to reach the robot as it sends a finishing blow to the fallen strawhats but instead I can only manage to cross in front of it trying to block the beam. I squint my eyes, fur raised on end along my spine, and wait for the pain to come. But nothing happens… I sit there for a minute confused before looking up not knowing what to expect. Surprisingly I see another large bear man holding a bible, the one I had noticed earlier that had been staying out of this fight. My brain is not able to comprehend all of this at once so I just turn my attention onto him and protectively try to block the strawhats sprawled out on the ground from both bear men. Growling like a wild beast I glance down at Zoro who was making a face filled with fury and horror at the sight of the bear man holding the bible and Zoro slowly forces himself to stand up and meet the bear man. 'That must be the real one…'

"So, you survived, Roronoa?" The bible holding one says in an almost calming voice. Though I continue to growl at him and step forward to stand next the Zoro deciding this one was the real threat. The hooves slow and the growling from behind me stop. I glance over my shoulder to see Luffy draped over my horse's back half conscious and Quinn has a feral look on his face but still does not try to intervene and they won't unless I am on death's door or I tell them to.

"Thanks to your mercy…" He says in a shaky but sarcastic voice. His voice seeming this weak surprisingly scares me and cuts off my growling. For some reason my instincts trusts the Straw Hat's and forces me to recognize them as good people, pirates or not. My instincts also have accepted how strong each one of the Straw Hat's are and to see Zoro, one of the strongest, shaken this much made me turn and stare at him to try and gauge what exactly to do, fight or run?

"H...Hey, Zoro… This is no time for talking, hurry!" Usopp pleads. His face is a mask of utter fear and despair.

Then the bear man slowly takes off his gloves eliciting a loud feral growl from me as I focus back in on him. I began shaking in anger mixed with fear and my spine bristles yet again. This man is sending off waves of power and energy even though he hasn't even moved.

"If you were to go on a vacation… Where would you like to go?" The bear dude says calmly not even phased by my fiendish growls of warning.

"Hey, Zoro!" Usopp repeats completely petrified in fear. "If you don't hurry up and run... "

I see the bear man swing his hand down to Zoro without another word and I roar in fury, flinging myself forward to attack the man's throat but instead I felt a light slap on my side. I was sent flying away by the bear man and just left a faint 'poof'... The last thing I remember is a bright flash of blue and the bear man smirking at me ever so slightly and for some reason I believe he said "Goodbye." It happened so fast my brain couldn't even comprehend what was going on all I could think about was 'Well, this wasn't much of a fight at all...' Then I was forced back into human form and fell into darkness.

 **Well... This took a ridiculous amount of time for me to finish... I promise you I'm not dead just a procrastinator. AP Gov tests, PARCC, and school in general have been kicking my booty! On top of that I've just had writers block, which is no fun at all. I'm hoping to make the next chapter or two long to get the time skip out of the way completely and move on with this story but I'm not entirely sure yet. I stopped this chapter short just cause I liked to end it here. (Do any of you peoples want a Zoro POV of all of this? It'd be really short)**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please give me feedback on what you think or want more of, don't worry about the Zoro/OC action it'll happen ;) I'LL BE BACK!**


	8. Shayde's 'Vacation'

Shayde's POV:

After what felt like seconds I regain consciousness to find I was hanging upside down in a tree in what appeared to be a lush forest. I was hanging by my feet that were caught in some odd looking vines.

As I hung there with my blood rushing to my head I tried to remember what the absolute fuck happened for me to end up in this predicament. All that came to mind was a dull ache from the back of my skull and nothingness. Deciding it'll come back to me eventually I do a, rather painful, sit-up grasping the vines holding my feet captive. I try to find some sort of leverage for my hands so I could release my feet without falling from the 50 some feet I was being elevated at. With some wiggling around I managed to latch onto an indent in a tree with my left hand then used my right hand to draw my tomahawk, that had somehow stuck with me this whole time upside down, using it to hack the weirdly colored vines off my feet. I half expected the vines to come alive and try to wrap around me again but they never did they simply fell limply against other vines and trees. Then the last vine snapped, twisting my legs so I was hanging there from one hand. It quickly started to burn my muscles screaming for me to give them rest. I couldn't help but think to myself how much improvement I need if I wish to survive ' _I'm too damn weak.'_

Scrambling to find some kind of foot hold before my left arm gave out I drive my tomahawk into the tree to relieve some of my weight from my left side to my right. I quickly found a foothold and tried to think about what I should do. Shift into a winged animal? Or think of this as training and find a way down in my human form? ' _Hmmmm… I think I feel like absolute shit so how about I just get out of here.'_

Making up my mind I tear my tomahawk out of the tree putting it back into it's leather holster and using my knees pushed off the tree letting myself free fall for a bit. Then about 20 feet above the ground I let the blue swirl of my liquid soul take over shifting into a little fiery red falcon. I quickly twist my little body over and start soaring on the momentum I had created from the fall letting my wings take me up and through the dense jungle.

I flew around for a few minutes before I heard the sound of a fight and screams of some human. I thought I was on some uninhabited island seeing how full of life this jungle is. ' _Seems I was wrong.'_ Deciding to fly towards the sounds of people I change my trajectory to the right and quickly make my way towards where the sounds of battle were coming from. The noises grew louder and closer with each flap of my wings until I broke through the trees into a relatively clear area. There I noticed a rather pretty blonde, short haired woman yelling at something hanging from a tree flailing around to try to dodge the arrows she shot at the person from a… snake bow? ' _What the absolute fuck… What kinda weird place have I gotten myself to now?!'_ Shaking my head lightly I decide to stop flying circles around the clearing and perch on a tree that gave me a great view of the action. Taking a closer look at the monkey like person swinging from the trees and shouting about how they 'didn't understand what they did wrong' I suddenly realized it was that straw hatted pirate, Luffy. I saw the straw hat bouncing on his head and his well known jean shorts and sandals paired with a red vest. ' _Well… Now I see why there's trouble on such a quiet island… Stupid kid.'_

Making up my mind and flying down to the ground I shift into my human form feeling as if something or someone was missing. 'What am I forgetting…. AHH shit! Winston and mother fuckin Quinn, that's what! God damnit…' Suddenly I relaxed myself and took a deep breath before taking out two silver capsule looking whistles, one in the shape of a war horse the other a wolf, I slowing blow into the one of a horse. A white shadow like substance seeps out of the whistle slowly taking the form of my companion and friend Winston. He snorts at me before making noises at me, aka commenting about how slow I was at calling him to my side. I roll my eyes at him before hesitantly blowing into Quinn's whistle, not too sure if I was ready to deal with the ass hole yet but figuring I'd have to at some point. Quinn's brownish black shadow came out in a rushed fashion forming the dire wolf who was making a less than amused face. Suddenly he growls before raising his right front paw leaning on his back legs to bring it down on my head.

"You stupid FUCKIN girl…. Don't ever do that to me again!" He roared out.

At this point the blonde girl had stopped shooting arrows at Luffy, noticing my presence, and openly stared at me with wide curious eyes whilst her snake coiled around her neck. Luffy used this time to try to regain his breath and sprawled out across a branch, he had yet to notice me.

I yet again rolled my eyes and responded with a sigh offering Quinn a simple, "Sorry… My bad."

"Whatever… I wouldn't have cared if you died anyway..." He mumbled out.

Winston throws his head up and snorts, "Yeah, that's why you were a blubbering mess when we got sent back into those damned capsules! As much as I hate being in that limbo like space I knew Shayde would never just leave us there. You however seem to be far too emotional whenever this happens."

Quinn sent a death glare at the grey horse before stalking away into the jungle to take his anger and frustration out of some poor animal or maybe a tree. I just ignored their bickering and let Quinn have his pissy teenager time. Winston decided to stick by my side which I appreciated immensely, he was so very comforting to have around. With his calm disposition and reliable personality I felt strong and it flooded confidence into my worn body.

I turned to look at the blonde haired lady and offered a small smile that didn't reach my eyes and was half assed. She just raised an eyebrow at me before glancing back to make sure Luffy hadn't ran away. Then turning back to me she seemed to have made up her mind.

"Are you a threat Miss..?" The blonde warrior who I noticed was barely wearing any clothes asked.

"Well… so long as I'm not given a reason to be put into action I won't cause any harm." I responded in a matter-of-fact way.

She looked at me in a suspicious manner before turning her back to me zeroing in on Luffy who was finally sitting back up with unfocused eyes. "So long as you don't cause any problems you may stay… However HE may not." She finished her statement with a point to Luffy who suddenly focused onto her then his gaze drifted over to me. His face lit up and he started to stand up but before he could say a word the blond woman cut him off with an arrow lodged at his feet.

Undeterred Luffy raised his arms above his head waving, "Heyy wolf girl! What're you doing here?!"

I stared at him with a blank 'What the fuck' look before sarcastically saying, "I came to vacation here."

Luffy laughed dodging more arrows thrown at him whilst saying, "You're weird… But you still need to join my crew!"

Letting out a hearty sigh I stare at him trying to figure out if he was being serious then I muttered out, "I don't get why you'd want a freak like me on your crew. Baka Strawhat…"

"Shishishishi it's cause you're interesting! Not to mention super strong. AHH STOP SHOOTING AT ME YOU CRAZY WOMAN!"

With that Luffy began swinging deeper into the jungle from tree to tree with the blondey trailing after him screaming at him to stop and let her shoot him. Giggling softly at their stupidity I walked in the direction they disappeared in at a leisurely pace with Winston clopping right next to me the whole way. I didn't know where we were going but at that point in time it didn't matter. I've always tried to live life in the present not the past. The past must stay the past. Even though I'm a bit of a hypocrite in thinking so since I too had a revengeful streak in my soul. Burning and festering there for far too long.

 **Sorry it's short but I'm just really trying to figure out which direction I wanted this story to go. I've re-wrote this about four times and the first two were six pages long and didn't like it soo picked this shit cause it's the only one I could develop this story from without cringing.**


	9. The Decision

_Shayde's POV:_

I watched Luffy disappear from my line of sight still being chased by the blonde haired woman but I kept to my steady pace not feeling any need to put extra energy into my walking as I can easily track them back down from the mess they're making. I look around me into the forest soaking up the noise and light trickling through the branches. I tip my head back and close my eyes not needing to look where I'm going as I let my instincts wash through my body heightening all of my senses as I reminisce in how much I've missed forest life even if this one was foreign to me. I can tell by Winston's easy breathing he's enjoying our little walk too I'm sure this brings back memories for him too. I let my mind wander back to my childhood and then it made me think of my sensei and growing up in forested lands of varying levels of terror and certain death. A chill shoots up my spine and I mumble to myself "Yea I'd rather not think of that right now…" Winston lets out a puff of air as if to agree and I lightly giggle it's liberating being back in such a familiar environment but we continue on with our silent walking.

When I begin to hear less wildlife I decide to extend my senses even farther and hear the faint hum of a town that seemed to overflow with life and noise. I turn to my right and head towards the sound, figuring that I'd be able to find something there. Winston clopping alongside me stares at me intently as if trying to read my mind but I ignore him as I'm used to his protective yet quiet nature.

Time seems to pass in a flash whilst in my daze and before I know it I'm standing at the base of a giant wall. I glance up admiring it's shear size with a low whistle before looking at Winston as if to question what he'd do now he simple huffs in distaste and becomes translucent like a silver ghost before twirling around me then into his capsule, almost reluctant to go back, that hung around my neck bundled into the scarf with the rest of my other companion's capsules. I gently run my hands over them touching them all allows their comforting warmth to flood my senses one a fresh breeze, the other a hot flash of adrenaline, another a calming meditative feel lulling me into rest, until I reach the last one that feels stone cold and sends a sharp icy spear into my heart that knocks the air out of me. My eyes tear up and I rip my hand away from the capsules then quickly shake my head like a wet dog trying to fling the feeling off of me like water. Then I looked back up the wall before transforming into the form of a hawk again with my fiery red feathers and stormy colored eyes that together looked extremely exotic on a simple small bodied hawk. Taking off flying up the wall then soaring even higher to get a, literal, bird's eye view of the city which was extremely impressive. It seemed to go on forever and was filled with bright colors, intricate buildings that appeared classical and covered in snake sculptures, and it was filled of all shapes of people that upon further inspection were all women. I smirk and think to myself 'Just my kinda place. No obnoxious men to get in my way.' In general I simply got along better with women since they generally were easier to deal with and had far more common sense than most men, however, that statement is leaving out any drama queen kind of woman.

After a few minutes of circling above the town a few times I steer towards a simple building that appears to be on the outer ring of houses with no one around. After making sure that no one was able to see me I transformed back into my human form in a liquid stream then a puff of red smoke. Despite being this way for years it always baffled me that my clothes and gear stayed on my person as if entering my soul in a storage style area.

In the distance I could hear a bunch of loud commotion all centered in one area and I've learned that wherever action and loud noises are is probably where Strawhat is. I sit still on the roof for a few seconds contemplating if I should head towards the noise. Then wind picks up sending my hair flying into my face where I notice the orange, mostly brown now, tresses covered in mud and has twigs weaved into it from my time hanging in the trees most likely. I quickly make up my mind that I need to find a place to bathe and set off to see what I could find.

After wandering from building to building I begin to grow frustrated as I can't seem to locate a bath house or open spring. I let out an exasperated sigh then close my eyes standing as still as a statue as I focus on my ears to increase my hearing that I normally kept dulled so I wouldn't be nauseous around people. I inhale deeply and release it slowly, as if I'm meditating, while trying to pinpoint any sound of water without being overwhelmed by the insane city noise. My sharpened ears quickly pinpoint the sound of a waterfall that seems to be on the outskirts of the village in a bamboo forest.

I let out a small smirk, proud of my discovery, as I carefully focus my ears solely on the location of the waterfall. If I let my concentration slip I'll be bombarded with the sounds of the entire village which would most likely make me throw up or pass out. It's happened before…rather embarrassing and crushed my intimidating image at the time. Thinking about it set a scowl to my face but I shake my head lightly and quicken my pace towards the springs I can hear growing closer by the second as I catapult myself rooftop to rooftop, nimble as a deer. When the waterfall begins to grow too loud for comfort I dull my hearing back down which feels a bit like stuffing my ears with cotton until I acclimate to the dulling of noise. I drop off the last rooftop and trot through the bamboo forest shield to have a pool of water come into sight. I quickly dart behind a group of bamboo shoots as I notice a bunch of the native women surrounding the pool of water and two women in it seeming to be bathing someone. I crane my neck in various odd directions trying to see who they were bathing and finally catch a glimpse at their face as the chunky woman shifts out of the way. _It's fuckin Strawhat… Why is he unconscious and why are those women bathing him?!_

I quickly make myself take a deep breath to clear my mind from my thoughts and take to observing what these women do and then decide if I should intervene or not. Of course I'd only do it because Rayleigh-san seems to have taken a liking to Strawhat and asked me to help him before. As I zone out thinking about Rayleigh and possible connections between him and Strawhat I fail to notice when the women calm down and start moving Luffy out of the water and to who knows where. After they had left and I finally snapped out of my daze I notice all the women have left.

Using this moment of peace and pushing Strawhat to the back of my mind I quickly strip off my clothes, save the cuffs around my wrists and my companions capsules, revealing a large tattoo on my back of an ancient looking tree. It was pure black ink and in the trees leaves initials could be faintly made out. As I step into the naturally warmed water I quickly submerge myself fully and start working the dirt out of my hair and off my skin as best I can.

A flash of more black ink out of the corner of my eye caught my attention as I stare at the twisting thorned vine wrapping up my left arm it was shaded black to grey the whole way the vines obscured as if the arm was tainted there was two words written on the arm running horizontal on my outer forearm in blood red, World Government. Normally the tattoo is hidden under a mid-upper arm length glove, I'm not used to seeing it bared to the world. It wasn't something I was embarrassed of it was simply a dark reminder of my purpose in life that I did not need to sit and stare at all day.

Sometimes I regret getting the tattoo in such a noticeable spot, but deep down I also understand why I chose to do exactly that. A bitter reminder of my weakness and failure towards my own tribe. Closing my eyes and taking a few deep even breaths to clear my mind I remind myself to keep moving forwards and towards my goal.

I rapidly finish cleaning myself off then shove my clothes back on painfully as the damp skin on my legs did not allow my jeans to go on easily. My face twists in disgust as I wish I had a change of clothes, but I've gone longer without. After straightening everything out I start walking out of the bamboo area back towards the populated areas looking for a crowd and listening for any loud commotion to direct me towards Strawhat's location.

It didn't take me long to find a large crowed of native women surrounding a cage where I saw Luffy at the bars frowning at a brunette holding a pad of paper as though she was interviewing him. I hid in an alley way and waited to see what Luffy would decide to do. It didn't take long for it to truly sink in for him that he was completely separated from his crew and he immediately broke out of his 'cell' and tore across the rooftops trying to find a way back out to sea. The women took off in pursuit shooting arrows at him volley after volley.

I was left almost choking from holding in my mirth, my body shaking as I muffled my giggles. I could not believe it took Strawhat that long to figure out his situation… I almost cringed at the stupidity behind it all.

Deciding to leisurely follow after Strawhat whilst staying under the natives radar I set off ducking between alleyways and over rooftops following the path of arrows and direction of yelling. I did contemplate shifting into an animal form, but decided doing this old school would be far more interesting.

 _~Couple Hour Time Skip~_

Strawhat had managed to piss off the princess of this island, who was the self-proclaimed most beautiful woman in the world. She was quite beautiful, but her nasty personality tainted any outer beauty. I watched from the shadows of the colosseum styled ring as Strawhat struggled to strike a deal with the 'Snake Princess' to free the women she had turned to stone. It quickly fell into a battle between the snake sisters and Strawhat.

I was itching to jump in and get in on the action, but respected Strawhat too much to interfere in his battles. My foot bounced and tapped random beats during all the high stress situations, but I quickly realized Luffy could handle himself and there was no need to worry about him. Watching Luffy fight was almost hypnotizing and I quickly realized why people naturally were drawn to this boy. I had made my decision in deciding to follow my gut and Rayleigh's intuition, I hope to any god out there this wasn't a huge mistake and would help heal my bitter, dark soul and achieve my goal.

I averted my eyes from Luffy and instead bore my eyes into the Snake Princess and as if sensing my intense stare she began scanning the area as if searching for something. I averted my gaze to the sky lazily watching the clouds move, and patiently waited for the battle to end before I would go confront Luffy on my newly made decision.

After the girls had been freed from their frozen state I jumped out from my shadowed hiding spot and towards the platform of the battle. Gaining everyone's attention and confusion I kept my gaze zeroed in on Luffy. The Princess looked royally pissed as she was about to give Luffy yet another long winded speech. He gave me a toothy grin and a thumbs up as if he knew I had been there silently cheering him on. I smirked then said bluntly "I think it wouldn't be too terrible to follow a man as interesting as you…"

Luffy immediately lit up as his grin seemed to get even wider, if that was possible, as he said "I'll take that as a yes on joining the crew then!"

I let out a sarcastically exasperated sigh saying, "Not like you gave me much of a choice to begin with…"

"Shishishi~, nope!"

 **Long time no post... Ha..ha... Yea, sorry. More to come! I will be doing this same shorter chapter style to kind of skim through the upcoming events in the One Piece Story as I don't want to change it too much yet. However, it will diverge soon as a bit of soulmate action is brought in and conflict as it's not gonna just work perfectly immediately. ;) Anyway till next time and thank you so much to those who have stuck around, means a lot to me!**


End file.
